“Nothing to be concerned about; they’re just radioactive isotopes.”

This a heaping helping of Summer ‘71 Dead, a rock and roll buffet of the highest order. There’s only a few jam vehicles, and they’re fused together in the form of the angelic Playin’ > Dark Star > Bird Song first set sequence. This is my new favorite Dark Star. It dissolves the ego and twists the mind, without punishing you like some of the more intense versions from the early 70’s. Just a sublime off-the-cuff psychedelic overture from the original 5-man Warlocks lineup.

Not many jam vehicles, and not many ballads either. This show is mostly rock, blues rock, and country rock. Any of the final 7 songs of the show could’ve been the closer, but they just kept on blazing away. Spectacular stuff. This is the Skull and Roses band doing what it did best.

This show made a fitting soundtrack for my drive to see Phil at the Westville Music Bowl a couple weeks ago. Two great Connecticut Dead shows, separated by over 50 years of time but less than 350 feet of Ivy League campus.

7/31/71 is a barrel of fireworks and musical barbecue from your favorite boys of summer.

This is the 1st show after the Fillmore: The Last Days show, and a rare one-off trip back east. There was originally a previous night in NYC, that had to be rescheduled for 8/26, causing two trips east [Sam Cutler would soon put his foot down on those shenanigans]. This was their 1st time at New Haven, but only time at the Yale football stadium (the next 11 times were at the Coliseum). The show has a semi-legendary Marty Weinberg AUD, though I never saw a full or decent partial, BITD of blanks & postage. For years, then, it was a mythical show; always rumors of the great lost show (it's good but not month's best). They set up on one end of this most-historic-gridiron and there was a casual feel - until the riot anyway. Locally infamous, it was concurrent with gatecrashers, riot police, and replete with tear gas - which we all know was absolutely necessary when dealing with Dead Heads. Sounds like the people inside didn't find out until later - other than the smoke. The upcoming Who concert would be cancelled.

On the SBD Billy's kick dominates and wears over time; addressed somewhat on the official release. Road Trips v1n3 is nice, but gave no context. And though the Weinberg AUD circulated first, it was in 2015, when the SBD went up, that we really got a handle on the show. Regardless of the individual tracks (and overall ratings), this whole show just has a unique feel - where the whole is greater than the parts, in Dead fashion. There are better versions of all of the first set (save Dark Star) in '71, but it's got cohesiveness and context; and the few aces occur in the right places, like a pinball plunger.

First Set. Seems the stage monitors were not fully working yet, and it takes quite awhile for the set to take off, with some middling versions. Sugaree is the first-ever, leading a newly-woodshedded pair that are still in the most basic arrangements. Mr. Charlie (also first-ever) is unsure, but here those are charms (it's months away yet for the powerful Pig versions). The heat & humidity are still killing the tuning on Mama Tried. X factor starts to arrive for Big Railroad - but still OOT when it does. Then comes the historical first appearance of glow sticks, during the 6min tuning. The "they're just radioactive isotopes!" is cut from the official release. It sounds just exactly right that a Deadhead would bring his dad's toy invention and make it part of Deaddom. Both the Weinberg AUD and the SBD miss the first riff cycle of Playin', but the AUD and the MTX have 4 more secs than the SBD. It does not stay continuously tight, but the short, 4-member-band version has such a purity. In one month it will pass the 5min mark, and then in Oct, with Keith, it passes 6min. All of this leads up to an all-time must-hear: this Dawk Staw is only the 5th of the year. And it's i n s a n e. It takes its place on the shelf of great '70-'72s. It's wandering and contemplative while still taking turns into frontier lands. Is it better than 2/18 or 4/26? Maybe; it's structurally different, though it does have a brief Feelin' Groovy. Billy really paints the final jam, Phil the first and middle. The lone verse is halfway. Like the first, they tease for the second verse, but then step off the moving walkway. You feel like you have heard more than one single Dawk Staw by the end. They were lean and rockish at the time, but this is so Grateful Deady. A Top 10 version. The Miller source has the correct pitches throughout, and the Weinberg AUD captures Phil - rare for a '71 field recording. Phil asks for Wharf next, but it's Bird Song. Note that Viola Lee used to start like this, with a crashing Hendrix chord. This is the first Bird not stand-alone, and the only one until '80! Well, if you count this one, because they do count-in from nearly a stop, so... But it is the only one from a Dark Star. The Miller source has fewer tape artifacts than the official. Either way, it's still the early arrangement: searching, developing. After Big Railroad people were bumming smokes from Jer, but after a spare & downtempo El Paso Bobby wants to smoke. Until Jer says "take it away Bobby. Don't light the cigarette! You don't have time!". The rest is average '71. After a rote Loser-SS Jer says "are we gonna do the old number one song?" After Janis died, her cover of McGee was released and in March '71 unexpectedly reached #1 on the pop charts (staying on the top 40 until May). Back when everybody heard chart hits on the radio. The official release has the ending without the patch (where it sounds like Jer says "we're going to take a short break, piss on the tires and stuff"). The average concert-goer who had heard American Beauty and maybe Live/Dead would have known two songs, including the cover. But such is the magic of the Dead.

Second Set. After a solid Bertha, somebody yells "wes Mickey Hawt?". The answer: "he's on safari in Africa". Bobby then claims "he locked himself in his closet, man!". The next few are average versions. After Me & My Uncle Jer has a chat with people down front. It's not a great Deal; it's rare to hear Jer shout like this, but he adds some extra work. Jer suggests Midnight Hour, which in '71 was only played three times, all in April. Instead it's an absolutely celestial China Cat. There's another AUD patch, 3: 15 long, and luckily the Weinberg AUD is great here. Put a bandaid under your jaw, then listen to Phil's bass runs between 1: 45 and 2:30. There is no other China Cat like this. This China into Rider is the soundtrack to the plasma-jetting core of Messier 87. Is it weird that Haggard's original Sing Me Back Home is under 3min, but it takes the Dead over 9 ... without a jam? Sugar Magnolia is lazy, but in a casual way not a bad way. The MTX source for Casey Jones removes the digital skips. Not Fade Away is just two verses. There's another patch at the end of Goin' Down the Road, but oddly the official doesn't use it here. Instead it cuts 36sec from the final jam @9:14 (1:20>1:56 of the Darkness Jam on this source). This was the final Darkness Jam of just two in '71 (it was mostly a '70 jam, and the previous one was in Good Lovin'). It's also one of the longest, and comes immediately after the Goodnight jam section. Also note that GDtRFB starts with an end jam. Now it's time for the band to get hot again with Uncle John's - probably the best of '71! They didn't leave the stage for the double encore, which leaves 'em happy on an uptempo and wear-em-out Johnny B. Goode. Jer plays very trad leads.

1st Set:  C+
2nd Set: B-
Overall = 3½ stars

Highlights:
Dark Star - Bobby paints Picasso, Phil paints Pollock
China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider - plasma-jetting core of Messier 87
Uncle John's Band - may be best '71
Johnny B. Goode - wear-em-out-happy vibe

SOURCES: The existence of the Weinberg AUD allowed a great dusbourne matrix. Five from the 1st set and seven from the 2nd are on Road Trips v1 n3. Not sure why they changed the running order (moving Dark Star>Bird Song after McGee). The official version of Dark Star is a rarity, because it's patched with the Weinberg AUD. However the patch section (abruptly) runs slow and needs +1% pitch correction.

A good show to compare with Europe 72,
They are not as polished here
but the music is RAW
It sounded to me like Garcia was going to go for Wharf Rat
but somehow they go for Bird Song.
And while this would seem like jam heaven
In the time it takes the band to navigate Bird Song's lyrics
The Dark Star spark is ghost.
Perhaps the other thing is the PITB that precedes the Star is still in embryonic form.
Some great backing vocals but not focused harmonies like 72
Oh yeah PIG sounds like he's got enough mojo for every coed at Yale

Reviewer: bobbypro - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - January 9, 2016
Subject: Great Show Riots and All
The day before Jerry's birthday---core group was firing on all cylinders--amazing Dark Star and Pig's Big Boss Man
I remember (of course those days were always a blur) that they only filled half the stadium with the Dead stage in the middle---they had room for thousands more, so the crowd outside got rammey and "one thing led to another" and all hell broke loose---i remember cars being turned over--am i right ?--myself and 4 friends got out of town that night via vw bus and headed to nyc for the concert for bangladesh---an absolutly incredible weekend of music

Thanks so much, Charlie!

Almost 44 years later and a beautiful soundboard is bestowed upon us. When you look at the amount of songs and length of the sets, you would think it was from 1973. A real gem of a performance and a real gem of a recording. Charlie strikes gold again.

Easily the finest of the four 1971 Dark Stars pre-Keith and sans Mickey, though I think this one might be even better as a whole than 2/18/71, with its famous "beautiful jam". This version is beautiful, jazzy, and at times dark and brooding, with a soaring Feelin Groovy jam to cap things off. The sudden drop into Bird Song is unexpected and delightful!

Also check out the end of GDTRFB for what I believe is the final Darkness Darkness jam from the boys.

You know it's a spectacular show from 1971 when the *least* interesting songs are the Dark Star->Bird Song ... from the first set!

There is some phenomenal energy pouring out of this soundboard. It's a pity there isn't a great Pig showcase ... maybe he wasn't feeling so hot or maybe the band was afraid of starting a riot.

Kreutzmann is out of control and very well recorded. His fills during the Sunshine Daydream portion of Sugar Mag sound like massive strikes at a bowling alley. Bobby and Jerry are on fire, no pussyfooting here.

Hey so cool, I was at this show, my first.
I recall during Dark Star Pig Pen stepped away from his organ and walked around stage talking to people. Pig, the bluesman, had no interest in psychedelic space jamming. hahaha. At end of Me & My Uncle, listen to Jerry joking with people in the front row who keeping yelling requests. Too funny. Dark Star Soars.

Charlie gets 5 stars for restoration of the recording, pretty good for '71 tape technology. Band energy, 5 stars. Overall performance, 4 stars.

Bonus: Photo of Dead on stage. Loved the tie died speakers. Look how close the audience is.
http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000DNhUv5XwWWs/s/850/850/1971-Grateful-Dead-Yale-Bowl-B-W-Negative-1.jpg

THANK YOU!!!!!!!